Ghana's drugmakers call for protection

High local taxes and a flood of "cheap substandard and usually dodgy imports," primarily from India, are to blame for the difficulties facing Ghana's drugmakers, according to a local report. Kwasi Okoh, managing director of Accra-based drugmaker Dannex, told the Ghanaian Chronicle newspaper: "in so far as we pay non-recoverable taxes on inputs, they become costs passed on to the end consumer."

Mr Okoh added that local fees and costs before bringing a drug to market in Ghana were "huge disincentives." However, he also called for a significant raising of import tariffs to target the mainly Indian generic drugmakers that supply cheaper drugs to the Ghanaian market.

Speaking at an event to launch three drugs by Dannex, Ghana's Health Minister, Courage Quashigah, said the government would give local drugmakers all the assistance they need to develop and compete internationally. "Tried and tested herbal products" must be refined to meet international standards, Major Quashigah said.